Research to develop payscales is an interesting idea. But the big question is, how will scales be financed without significant fee increases? The report does highlight how Government intervention would be needed to achieve this, but it is vital that support is long-term and does not have stringent conditions attached. In the current economic climate, amid issues with the free entitlement, how can nurseries even begin to start looking at their pay structure without the firm promise of ongoing financial support?
Qualifications and skills are on the rise, but this is a Catch-22 situation. The Graduate Leader Fund does not allow settings to make their salaries comparable to teaching and doesn't address the salaries of all nursery staff. Every nursery would like to pay their staff wages that truly reflect their value, but doing this would make childcare unaffordable. Already 80 per cent of fees go directly on staff salaries.
Improving pay is a key part of retaining a higher skilled and qualified workforce,but while Government has made significant investment in developing the workforce, the issue of pay is still not fully addressed nor is the understandable attraction of other, better-paid sectors.
As NDNA members report, there is no easy solution to the pay puzzle and we believe there is much to explore before payscales can even be discussed. Employers and their representative bodies must be part of any working group looking at pay. The Government is likely to be reluctant to support pay for practitioners until they are highly qualified - but how can nurseries get to this point in the long term without some reward at each step of the way?
This report highlights some key issues, but it is vital to recognise that there is no simple answer on balancing pay and affordability for parents.